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How To Be An Effective Person

Summary of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People is a book about mindsets of how to be a better contributor and increase your production.

Habit #1: Be Proactive

Focus on things that you can control and control them to turn circumstances in your favor. Accept things that you don’t like and change it by changing the things that you are able to change.

Don’t focus on things that you can’t control. The types of people that do are “complainers”. They always are complaining about anything and everything, not taking the action to do anything about it.

Don’t be a “complainer”, be proactive.

Habit #2: Begin With The End In Mind

Always keep your ultimate goals, large or small, in your mind. And ask yourself if your actions are aligned with those goals.

Example: If you want to build a business, are the things that you are doing now aligning with obtaining that goal?

Keep the “end in mind” throughout the day, week, month, year, or life (depending on whether its short or long term goals) in mind and align your actions with them.

Habit #3: Put First Things First

Prioritize.

With your “end” in mind, prioritize your time and activities to align with it.

Habit #4: Think Win-Win

Do not be cynical towards your competitors. Do not participate in the “zero sum game” where you think that you have to take out your rivals or competitors in order to succeed.

Instead, look to create a win-win situation with your competitors. Doing so will ultimately compound success, open up more avenues and opportunity for everyone.

Habit #5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

Strive to understand people, how things work, situations, etc. first before putting your opinion in and seeking to be understood.

What you think is true, may not be true in every circumstance of what has happened or is happening. Contexts change. Situations change. Understand them first before putting in your “two cents”, making a decision, taking action, or giving advice.

Habit #6: Synergize

Two heads, 10 heads, 100 heads, are not greater than one if those heads aren’t in sync.

Strive to synergize with people when taking on a task or striving for a goal.